1. Technical Field
The subject invention pertains generally to test probes. More specifically, the subject invention pertains to a new and improved integrated circuit (“IC”) test probe for use in various testing applications. Furthermore, the subject invention is capable of being employed in several different configurations that permit it to be used with a variety of IC chips. The subject invention also is directed to high-density electrically conductive test probes which may be concentrated within a very small area and which are designed to shield the interconnection between the electrical contacts.
An electrical component, such as an IC, must be tested and evaluated for reliability before actual use. For proper testing and evaluation, the IC must be electrically connected to a printed circuit board (“PCB”) by a reliable means. As the microelectronic field has advanced, the complexity and concentration of components in an IC has increased dramatically. This increase has lead to an increased lead density of the IC chip with a corresponding decrease in the gap between the leads. Therefore, a need for smaller sized test probes to accommodate these increasingly complex ICs is needed.
Ball grid array (BGA) and land grid array (LGA) packages have become increasingly popular because of their high densities and low profiles. With a BGA package, the rounded solder balls of the BGA are usually soldered directly to a corresponding surface mount pad of a printed circuit board, rather than the pins of a pin grid array IC package.
Another method of enabling IC packages to be interchanged is by use of sockets such that there is no permanent connection between the IC package and the circuit board. The sockets for use with BGA and LGA packages have been developed so as to allow those packages to be non-permanently connected to a circuit board, such as when it is for purposes of testing. However, problems can exist in attaching a BGA package to a conventional socket. More particularly, this comes about because a BGA package presents a non-traditional mating condition. The rounded solder balls of the BGA provide relatively poor points of contact for soldering, as they are suited only for their intended purpose of being reflowed. Furthermore, the co-planarity between the individual points of contact for each rounded solder ball may be lacking due to ball irregularities and warping of the BGA package.
Another problem associated with integrated circuit probes as used in conventional semiconductor chip carriers relates to electrical interference. As the speed of microprocessors and other electrical components increases, and as the air waves are filled with all types of spurious electrical signals coming in from different sources, the requirement for shielded connectors becomes acute. A shielded connector is similar to a coaxial connector wherein a central pin is surrounded by an insulated material, such as Teflon®, and the Teflon® is surrounded by a gold-plated cylindrical member which, in turn, is surrounded by plastic and with interconnecting means being provided for connecting the coaxial connector components. In a semiconductor chip carrier, it is desirable to have both high-density, as well as individual shielding, of each contact or each test probe.
2. Background of the Related Art
Accordingly, the art has seen improvements in coping with the increased complexity and density of BGA packages. An example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,615 that issued to Richards et al. on Apr. 20, 1993. Richards et al. discloses a module comprising an insulating material, a generally T-shaped slot for mounting on the test probes, a chisel tipped test lead for contacting the IC and a connection end on the opposite side of the substrate for soldering to a wire lead.
However, the device of Richards et al. is designed to score the connection surface of one device and is not designed for high frequency applications. Scoring the surface of a component to remove the insulating coating is not desirable since it permits contaminants to contact the component's surface causing oxidation of the surface that results in lower conductivity of the junction.
Another prior art test probe is of the spring-loaded electrical contact probe type, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,213 which issued to Reuter, et al. on Sep. 17, 1996. Reuter, et al. discloses an electrical spring probe including a barrel having an annular opening therethrough, with a plunger being partially disposed within the annular opening at one end and capable of slideable axial displacement within the annular opening. The plunger of Reuter, et al. includes a tip positioned outside of the barrel for contacting an electrical device. A terminal member is disposed within the annular opening through the barrel at an end opposite to the plunger and is fixedly attached therein. The terminal member includes a flanged end that is positioned outside of the barrel and includes at least one flange that extends radially outward from the flanged end. The flange has a shoulder that is substantially perpendicular to an axis running along the terminal member. A slot is positioned in the flanged end and extends axially along the terminal member from the tip of the flanged end a distance toward the barrel. The spring probe forms a locked attachment with a probe receptacle by a snap locking abutment of the shoulder of each flange with an outside edge of an opening in a terminal portion of the receptacle. The Reuter, et al. spring contact probe has, as described above, numerous components, is difficult to assemble, and is costly. In addition, because of the many components, the electrical path during a testing operation is quite circuitous, thereby limiting the high frequency testing application of the Reuter, et al. probe.
Another prior art socket terminal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,554 which issued to Murphy on Mar. 2, 1999. In Murphy, there is disclosed a socket terminal assembly including a socket body having an end with an opening and an opposite end configured to contact a corresponding connection region of a printed circuit board, and a contact spring, disposed at the opening of the socket body, to receive and apply a frictional force sufficient to retain the lower end of a pin within the opening of the socket body. The socket terminal also includes a resilient member, disposed within a lower end of the opening, to apply to the pin and in response to a downward force applied to the pin, and upward force sufficient to overcome the frictional force of the contact spring. The Murphy pin has an end adapted to contact an electrical contacting area of an integrated circuit package and an opposite end configured to be inserted within the opening of the socket body. An intercoupling component includes a socket support member having holes, each hole receiving a corresponding socket terminal assembly. Because of the construction of the Murphy socket terminal, the electrical path between the printed circuit board and the BGA component is also circuitous, and the numerous components result in an expensive socket terminal. Furthermore, for RF applications, the circuitous electrical path results in high resistance, thereby limiting the application of the socket terminal.
Other prior art spring contact probes including multiple parts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,783,624; 5,009,613; 5,225,773; and 6,104,205, all of which are assigned to Interconnect Devices, Inc. of Kansas City, Kans.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a new and improved test probe small enough to accommodate the increased density of leads on modern IC chips.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide a test probe that has durable and flexible contacts for connecting a component to a PCB.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide a reliable test probe that will continue to operate as designed after numerous operational cycles.
Yet another objective of the subject invention is to provide a test probe that is capable of accepting ball grid array (“BGA”) or land grid array (“LGA”) chips.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide a new and improved test probe that is inexpensive to manufacture and has a minimum number of parts.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide a test probe that does not damage the surface of the PCB.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a test probe that is suitable for use in high frequency test applications.
A still further object of the subject invention is to provide a test probe which is operative to establish a minimum resistance, minimum inductance electrical connection between the lead of an integrated circuit and a printed circuit board.
It is also an object of the subject invention to provide an integrated circuit probe which is shielded from electrical interference brought about by spurious electrical signals coming in from different sources.